Game board



y 11,.1943- v. SALOMON 2,319,159

GAME BOARD Filed July so, 1941 Patented May 11, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,319,159 I 1 1 I Y GAME BOARD Vicente Salomon, Rochester, N. Y.

Application July 30, 1941, Serial No. 404,714

2 Claims.

The invention relates to a game board for playing Sonka and similar games.

The game board of Sonka, which is well-known in the Philippine Islands, is played with marbles, or similar playing pieces and requires two parallel rows of similar side pockets, usually called houses, and. two enlarged end pockets usually called banks, located at the ends of the side rows of pockets. It is an object of the present invention to provide a strong, durable and comparatively inexpensive game board, having the said rows of side pockets and enlarged end-pockets, and adapted to be easily and cheaply manufactured and equipped with foldable supporting legs adapted to be unfolded to arrange the game board in the form of a table and also to be compactly folded within the game board when the latter is not in use so that the game board may be compactly arranged for storing or shipping or similar purposes.

While the game board may be carved or otherwise made out of wood, it is an object of the invention to provide a game board of shell-like formation adapted to be made of thin sheet metal, cardboard, plastics and the like material and comprising a horizontal top sheet and vertical depending side and end walls or flanges adapted to form an interior chamber or recess open at the bottom and having sufiicient depth to receive the folding legs and also side and end pockets formed by depressing the material of said horizontal sheet.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and pointed out in the claims hereto ap pended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawing:

1 is a plan view of a game board constructed in accordance with this invention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a reverse, plan view of the game board, the supporting legs being shown in their folded position.

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a similar view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view of a. game board made of cardboard.

In the accompanying drawing; in which is illustratedthe preferred embodiments of the invention, l designates a game board of shelllike formation adapted as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 5 inclusive of the drawing, to be made of sheet metal or plastics having sufiicient strength to enable the game board tobe constructed of material as thin as 1 3 inch. The game, board may, however, as illustrated in Fig. 6, of the drawing, be made of cardboard 2, which requires the game board to be of material approximately inch in thickness but the thickness of the material of the game board may be varied to obtain the required strength and durability as will be readily understood.

The game board which consists of a relatively thin top sheet 3 and depending side and end walls or flanges 4 and 5 is designed particularly for playing the game of Sonka. The game of Sonka is well-known and a popular game in the Philippines. It is played with marbles or similar playing pieces, and the game board is provided at each side between its ends with a row of side pockets 5 and at its ends with enlarged end pockets 1. The pockets are adapted to receive. the marbles or playing pieces. As the game of Sonka is well-known in the Philippines and elsewhere, further explanation of the game is deemed unnecessary.

The side and end pockets 6 and 1 are formed by stamping or otherwise depressing the material of the top sheet. The side and end walls or flanges 4 and 5 form an interior chamber 8 to receive the depending pockets and also folding legs 9. The side and end pockets 6 and I are circular in plan view, the side pockets bein substantially semi-circular in cross-section while the end pockets 1, as illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawing, are approximately U-shaped in crosssection.

The interior chamber of the game board is open at the bottom to permit the folding legs 9 to swing into and out of it. The folding legs 9 which are constructed of stout resilient material are preferably made of rod, metal or heavy wire of approximately a quarter of an inch in diameter. The folding legs are approximately U-shaped and are composed of straight parallel sides and a transverse connecting foot portion I 1 preferably formed integral with the sides which frictionally engage the side walls or flanges of the chamber 8 when the legs are in their folded position.

The upper terminals of the legs are bent laterally at right angles to form pivots l2 which are arranged in bearing perforations l3 in the side walls or flanges of the game board. The legs swing downwardly and outwardly from the chamber 8 to arrange them in a downwardly diverging inclined supporting position as illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawing and the outward swinging of the legs is limited by stops 13 preferably formed by lugs projecting from the inner faces of the side walls or flanges of the game board. The inward and upward swinging of the legs to arrange them in their folded position is limited by contact of the transverse portions of the legs II with the adfiacen't side pockets 6 as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing.

The side and end walls or flanges of the game board are of sufficient depth or vertical dimension to accommodate both the depending pocketforming depressions, and also the folding legs and the frictional contact between the sides of the folding legs and the side Walls or flanges 4 is suflicient to maintain the legs in their folded position. When the legs are folded, the game board is in a. compact condition for shipping or storing. While the game of Sonka is generally played with 7 side pockets, as illustrated in the drawing, the number of the side pockets may, of course, be varied and it has been found that side pockets composed of groups of five are very satisfactory.

What is claimed is:

l. A game board of shell-like formation, comprising a top sheet and depending side and end flanges constituting walls and forming an interior chamber open at the bottom, said top sheet being provided with depending pockets terminating short of the plane of the lower edges of the flanges to provide a leg receiving space and resilient folding supporting legs of approximately U-shape pivoted within said chamber to the side walls thereof and having sufficient resiliency to frictionally engage the side walls of said chamber for retaining the legs in their folded position within said chamber, said legs being located in the space below the depending pockets and above the lower edges of said flanges.

2. A game board of shell-like formation, comprising a top and depending side and end flanges constituting walls and forming an interior chamber open at the bottom, said top having pockets depending therefrom into said chamber and confined within the chamber and terminating short of the lower edges of said flanges to provide a leg receiving space, and resilient folding supporting legs of approximately U-shape pivoted within said chamber to the side walls thereof and having suflicient resiliency to frictionally engage said side walls for retaining the legs in their folded position within said chamber, the bottoms of said pockets limiting the inward swinging movements of the legs and said legs when folded being contained within said leg re ceiving space between the pockets and the lower edges of the flanges, and means carried by the side Walls of said chamber and arranged to form stops for limiting the downward and outward swinging movement of the legs, whereby the legs are adapted to rigidly support the game board in position for use.

VICENTE SALOMON. 

